1.This is because it grows strong by withstanding the gales and harsh weather. Contrast Anthologia Graeca, 9.30ff, 105, and the much-translated 376 for an opposing view of the fir tree: ‘how can the fir, storm-tossed while growing on land, resist the gales at sea?’ 9.31 was translated by Alciato (Selecta epigrammata, p. 98).